Build the intake and prep layer before anyone hits record. The form collects what they know. The internal fields organize what your team needs. The AI prompts turn their links into useful prep.
A podcast guest, sponsor, or partner is part of an episode workflow. If their details live in email threads, DMs, calendar notes, and random docs, recording day starts with a search problem.
This playbook builds the first part of the podcast system: intake, scheduling, research, questions, sponsor context, and host prep. Recording, editing, publishing, and distribution come later.
The goal is simple: when the host sits down to record, the episode is already organized.
This is Playbook 01. Recording & Production is Playbook 02. Distribution & Partner Assets is Playbook 03.
Public form: what they fill out. Internal fields: what your team adds. AI prep: research and questions generated from the links they shared.
The intake form is not your full operating record. It is the front door. Use one Type field first, then show the right questions based on whether they are a guest, sponsor, or partner.
Guest, Sponsor, Partner, or Sponsor + Guest. This controls which conditional fields appear next.
Name, email, phone, website, company or show name, and primary contact if someone else handles scheduling.
For guests, this is their bio. For sponsors and partners, this is the company or offer description.
Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, podcast, press page, offer link, and any link they want included in episode notes.
Headshot for a guest. Logo or brand image for a sponsor or partner. If you create YouTube thumbnails or promo graphics, you usually need both the host and guest images in the design.
Permission to record, publish, repurpose, and share episode clips or promotional assets.
The themes they can speak on and the audience problems they can help solve.
What they think might be useful, plus topics to avoid. Treat this as input, not the episode plan. The host owns the final angle because guests often default to their own products, services, or familiar talking points.
Host-controlled availability, not an open-ended guest request. Send a calendar with pre-available slots or collect timezone and availability so your team can place them inside the host's recording windows.
Logo file or brand image needed for episode assets, landing pages, or partner galleries.
Approved message, ad copy, talking points, required disclaimer, promo code, and required links.
Duration, amount, start date, end date, placement, approval contact, intake date, and notes.
Do not make one bloated form where a guest sees sponsor amount and a sponsor sees interview questions. Use Type first, then branch the form.
After the form is submitted, the record becomes an internal prep record. This is where your team adds the operational details that should not be on the public form.
These fields make the record usable before recording and hand it cleanly into the next podcast playbook.
AI can draft research and questions, but your team should be able to edit them before the host uses them.
The confirmed recording time. This powers the podcast calendar and the upcoming episodes view.
Zoom, Riverside, StreamYard, SquadCast, or any link the host and guest need on recording day.
Research summary generated from the guest's links, then reviewed by the team.
A question bank generated from the research. The host does not need to ask every question. The point is to show up prepared.
The reason this episode exists for your audience. This keeps the conversation from becoming a generic bio interview.
Internal draft of the sponsor message, placement notes, and approval status.
New, Research Needed, Questions Ready, Scheduled, Ready to Record, Recorded, or Handed to Production.
These prompts are meant to run after the intake form is submitted. They should use the guest, sponsor, or partner details already stored in the record.
Research this podcast guest using the information below.
Guest name: [NAME]
Company/show: [COMPANY OR SHOW NAME]
Website: [WEBSITE]
LinkedIn: [LINKEDIN]
YouTube/podcast: [YOUTUBE OR PODCAST LINK]
Instagram or other social links: [SOCIAL LINKS]
Bio and speaking topics: [BIO AND TOPICS]
Create a host research brief with:
- 5 sentence summary of who they are
- What they are known for
- Key accomplishments or credibility signals
- Recent themes from their content or public presence
- Strong episode angles for our audience
- Any useful source links
- Any uncertainty or claims that should be verified before recording
Do not write promotional copy. Prepare the host for a better conversation.Use the guest research below to create interview question ideas.
Guest research:
[PASTE GUEST RESEARCH]
Audience for this show:
[DESCRIBE YOUR AUDIENCE]
Create:
- 5 story questions that pull out their journey
- 5 expertise questions that teach something useful
- 3 opinion or contrarian questions
- 3 original angles that are not already over-discussed in their public interviews or common content
- 3 follow-up questions the host can use if the conversation gets interesting
- 1 opening question
- 1 closing question
Before writing the final list, look for themes this guest appears to repeat often. Do not center the episode on the same questions they have answered on many other podcasts. Push toward fresher angles, underexplored parts of their story, useful tensions, or ideas that have not been saturated online.
Make the questions specific to this guest. Avoid generic podcast questions and obvious promotional setups.Prepare sponsor or partner context for a podcast episode.
Sponsor/partner name: [NAME]
Website: [WEBSITE]
Offer or message: [SPONSOR MESSAGE OR PARTNER DETAILS]
Required links or promo code: [LINKS OR CODE]
Duration, amount, or placement notes: [SPONSORSHIP DETAILS]
Return:
- Plain-English summary of the sponsor or partner
- Audience fit
- Key talking points
- Draft host-read message
- Short version for social or episode notes
- Any compliance, claim, or approval notes the team should check
Keep the message clear and conversational. Do not overhype.Create a view that only shows records that are scheduled or ready to record. This should not be the full database. It should be the host's pre-recording surface.
The host can open one view before the call and understand who they are talking to, why the episode matters, what to ask, what to mention, and what has already been approved.
Click each item as you confirm it. The goal is not a beautiful form. The goal is a recording-ready episode record.
Public intake form has a Type field for guest, sponsor, or partner
Guest fields and sponsor/partner fields are separated or conditional
Interview date/time exists as an internal field
Guest research and interview questions fields exist and are editable
Sponsor logo, message, duration, amount, notes, and intake date exist when needed
Host prep view shows only records ready for upcoming recording